Yarn ends bowl

I came across this fabulous idea months and months ago on the wonderful blog of Elisabeth Andrée and pinned it to my “DIY/crafts Pinterest board“. Time to open the pin and get started! Elisabeth Andrée’s tutorial links back to yet another beautiful blog, by Carolyn and gives you the “recipe” to make the paste with which the yarn ends are sort of glued together to form a bowl. On Carolyn’s blog you can see that you don’t necessarily need yarn ends, you can very well use long strands of yarn and stick to one color as well.

You’ll be perfectly fine, just following Elisabeth Andrée’s and Carolyn’s instructions, but I just want to show you how things looked here when I got started and moreover, show you the result! I’ll be pretty much bombarding this post with photos, but that way you’ll get the picture – ;) – even better!

So, I got everything I needed: yarn ends …..
as well as the ingredients to make the paste with …..

Then, following the “recipe“, I mixed and cooked the paste and let it cool …..

Prepared the bowl(s) by covering the outside(s) with plastic wrap, making sure to cover all of the bowl(s) …..

Placed the bowl(s) on aluminum foil (so the paste could safely drip) ….. After all these preparations, it was time to p l a y!
I picked up a handful of yarn ends, got another handful of the paste and mixed them in my hands, making sure every piece of yarn was soaked with the paste. Then little by little I covered my first bowl with the gooey yarn ends, feeling like some sort of sculptor, really.

After all this sculpting, the hardest part came …… finding the patience to let them dry! When I had finished my first (big) bowl, I very quickly got the feeling that I might have sculpted a bit to thick a layer onto the bowl. Since there were enough yarn ends ànd paste left, I prepared another, smaller bowl and made sure its layer of yarn-paste was considerably thinner. The first bowl is drying nicely, but is still not totally dry – after almost 48 hours! However, the second, smaller bowl with the thinner layer was completely dry this morning and so the exciting task of removing the yarn shell from the bowl started. Nervous moment, I can tell you …… But, the bowl came off nicely though, after which I carefully removed the plastic wrap from the inside of the bowl and T A D A H!!

Isn’t it beAUtiful? I’m ridiculously happy with the way it turned out! So, go ahead, give it a try – you won’t regret it! It’s really easy (the drying part is the toughest, honestly) and I’m sure you lovely yarn loving people will get a kick out of this too. Oh ….. and please share photos of your yarn ends bowl, I would love to see all of your unique creations! Happy crafting!

I really love this idea, but I am curious, do you have any recommendations for a way to seal the bowl? Like using a varnish or resin to make sturdy and waterproof? If so, what are some products and brand names? I’m not familiar with that sort of thing, but I want ot make sure my bowls are nice and sturdy if I give them as gifts or sell them.

Thank you! To make the bowl sturdy, without using anything but the paste as per the “recipe” in the tutorial will be achieved by making the layer(s) of yarn ends drowned in the paste quite thick. It will take longer for the bowl to completely dry, but that’s ok. I’ve never varnished mine, but I’m sure you could us a spray-on varnish (like Krylon), or even a clear paint on one (like the ones used to varnish boats). Good luck! Marianne xx

The paste prevents the yarn ends from sliding down. I think “elmers” is a kind of glue? I’m not familiar with it, but you can give it a try with a few ends and a small area, maybe? Good luck! Marianne xx

Hola Estela,
I don’t speak any Spanish, but I think I understand your lovely message here – thank you for your compliments! It seems we have a lot in common: a love for crochet, cats & dogs ;)! I’ll make sure to visit your blog! Marianne xx

Thanks! It’s so much fun to do – can highly recommend ;)! I’m not familiar with PVA Glue, but it would be well worth a try on just a tiny project, like a votive or so (http://marrose-ccc.com/2014/09/01/yarn-ends/)? Good luck and lots of fun! Marianne xx

Does the paste keep the yarn ends pretty smooth once the bowl dries? Or is it still kinda fuzzy like dry yarn is? I was thinking of making a little jewelry bowl for my young daughter’s earrings. But if it’s going to snag up on them, it may not be the best project idea.

I’d say it’s an in between thing: not really fuzzy, but not exactly smooth either. You could maybe try polishing/varnishing the bowl? However, I keep some of my yarn in my yarn bowls and the yarn never gets caught in the bowls …. Definitely worth a try – love your idea of a little jewerlry bowl, good luck! Marianne xx

Welcome to maRRose – CCC

My name is Marianne Dekkers-Roos. I live near Amsterdam, The Netherlands with my husband, our 2 teenagers, a dog and a cat.
I love to crochet, knit, cook/bake, quilt/sew, well anything crafty that tickles my fancy.
This is the place where I like to share the projects that did just do thàt!

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